The reverse chronological resume format rules. It’s like a Swiss Army knife: it’s useful to everyone.

This is the most popular US resume format. It’s a safe choice for virtually all job seekers. It’s also a simple resume format to use.

Here’s how a proper reverse chronological resume works:

Reverse Chronological Resume Layout

Contact information

Resume summary or resume objective

Work experience

Education

Skills

Additional Sections

The reverse chronological resume format puts emphasis on your work history because that’s what’s most relevant for hiring managers.

Since this type of resume is the most popular resume format, let’s have a quick breakdown of its pros and cons.

Pros and cons of reverse chronological resume format

pros

cons

The recruiters are familiar with it. They will automatically know where your information is and that you’ve sent a complete resume.

It will require tweaking. It’s the most common resume layout for job applications. You will need to make some extra effort to catch the recruiter’s eye and showcase your skills and achievements.

It’s guaranteed to go through an Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) resume test. The bots will be able to find the different sections of your resume and extract the most important information.

If you have large gaps in your work history, the recruiters will notice them immediately. The reverse-chronological format brings attention to your work history and experience.

The reverse chronological resume format highlights the peak of your career. And it’s your most recent employment that is most relevant for the hiring managers.

It’s not an ideal format of a resume for career changers. If you have little work experience in a position similar to the one you’re applying for, it may not be the best resume format for showing off your skills.

Want to learn exactly how to format a resume in reverse chronological order and what to write in each section? We’ve got a dedicated guide just for you: Chronological Resume Template & 20+ Examples [Complete Guide]. Follow our reverse chronological resume format samples and basic resume format examples to convince the employer you’re the best candidate out there.

Not sure about the reverse chronological format? There’s an alternative for you!

The combination resume format (hybrid resume) can be a great alternative to the reverse chronological layout.

As the name suggests, it combines the aspects of the other two resume types. It focuses on skills without throwing off the work experience section.

Who can benefit from the combination resume format?

Candidates with a lot of relevant work experience and oodles of professional achievements.

Career-changers who want to highlight how the skills they’ve developed over the years will help them succeed in their new career path.

Here’s how to structure a combination resume to highlight your best assets:

Combination Resume Layout

Contact information

Skills Summary

Additional Skills

Work Experience

Education

You start the combination resume with a summary of your skills. You list those skills that are most relevant to a particular job opening. Underneath each skill, you make a bulleted list of professional achievements which highlight the skill.

Then, you spice up the descriptions of your skills by listing your relevant certifications and awards that validate your skills.

If you’re writing a combination resume, there are two crucial things you have to remember:

Tailor the mix of your awards and benchmarks to a position you want to land and be specific: You got promoted? Why? Saved your company’s money? How much? Led a high-stakes project and pulled off a spectacular success? How?

Choose the combination resume format only if you can link your skills to your actual, relevant achievements. If you don’t have much work experience, don’t go for the hybrid resume.

Some job seekers see the functional resume as the cool resume format that makes your application more entertaining and unique.

In fact, the only job seekers who can potentially benefit from a functional resume are:

Those looking for jobs in creative industries, where your portfolio matters more than your resume.

Military transitioners—because their detailed job descriptions could be too difficult for non-military recruiters to comprehend.

Candidates who, for some reason, do not want to seem overqualified, for example ex-CEOs applying for mid-level positions.

Here’s how to structure a functional resume:

Functional Resume Layout

Contact information

Resume objective

Skills Summary

Additional Skills

Work Experience

Education

The functional resume format allows you to take the pressure off of your work history and focus only on your skills and abilities. That’s why it’s also called the skills based resume format.

In theory, that sounds great, right?

In practice?

It gets rejected in the first stage of the recruitment process.

And you’re not getting any job interviews.

Why?

Because, in practice, the functional format of a resume just throws your job history out the window.

Your work experience section becomes reduced to a tiny list of your past employers at the bottom of the resume. The skills section becomes the meat and potatoes of your resume.

True, your abilities are what the employers ultimately look for, but you can’t just randomly file your skills in whatever order you see fit.

You need to give the recruiters some tangible proof and the functional resume format won’t help you do it.

The fact that there is no specific evidence that you learned your skills in any sort of job setting is what makes the functional resume the least successful resume format.

It makes you look suspicious and sneaky—like you’re hiding something or simply lying.

Some experts say the skills based resume is good for a student resume format or a resume format for fresh graduates, but, in fact, it’s not.

Even if you don’t have much work experience, you should still link your skills with either your academic achievements or part-time jobs and volunteer experience.

Finally, the functional resume format is very likely to fail the ATS resume test. The robots won’t be able to scan your resume for dates or specific sections and they won’t extract relevant information.

So, long story short: we strongly advise against using the functional resume format for job applications. It’s not a creative resume format as some people apparently think. It’s simply unreliable and useless for most.

Before you start writing that killer resume, remember that resume formatting is not only about the chronological vs. combination vs. functional format. It’s also about creating a neat, legible document, pleasing to the recruiter’s eye.

How to Format a Resume

Choose clear, legible, and respected fonts.Custom-made typefaces or extravagant fonts might look good on book covers or marketing bulletins, but on your resume, go for simplicity. Choose one from the best fonts for a resume. Size 11 or 12 pt for the main text.

Be consistent with your resume layout.When planning your resume layout, set 1 inch margins. All headings should look the same. Stick to the same date format: for example 11–2017, or November 2017.

Don’t cram your resume with gimmicky graphics.Less is more. White space is your friend—recruiters need some breathing room! With graphics you have little to gain, a lot to lose—like failing an ATS resume test.

Get photos off your resume.The recruitment process is a whole lot like Tinder. It’s just that you’re looking for a job, not a date. So it’s your “bio,” not your profile pic that gets you the swipe right.

Spice Up any Resume by Adding Extra Sections

As we explained, there are three resume formats of resumes you can choose from.

Does that mean that all resumes have to be boring and look pretty much the same?

Of course not!

There’s an easy way to make your application stand out.

Whichever resume format you choose, you can dress up your resume in three following ways:

Add a resume summary or resume objective

The best place to start buffing up your resume is at its very top.

Start your resume with a resume summary or a resume objective—a brief, concise paragraph at the top of your resume.

A resume summary highlights your career progress and achievements.

A resume objective, in turn, shows what skills you’ve mastered and how you’d fit in.

Put it right below your contact information and try to make it no longer than four lines of text.

Why is it so important?

Because, as research shows, recruiters usually focus on the top third of your resume.

The point of both your resume summary and objective is to highlight what you don’t want a potential employer to miss.

Our resume builder (you can create your resume here) will give you tips and examples on how to write your resume summary or any other section. You can easily copy them straight into your resume - it will save you a ton of time.

(We’ve also made examples for almost every profession so you can see a sample from your own field of expertise. Check them out!)

Make an additional section for your certifications, awards, interests, or hobbies

Candidates lie on their resumes and recruiters know it.

Things like your certifications, industry awards, or articles you’ve published are your unquestionable triumphs that you need to show off in a separate section. Here’s how to add them to your resume to convince every recruiter that hiring you is a no-brainer: Achievements to Put on a Resume - Complete Guide (30+ Examples)

But what if you’re a fresh graduate and don’t yet have any of the above?

Add a hobbies and interests section. It will give the recruiters a fuller picture of you as a person.

Think it’s too cheesy?

Think again.

Nowadays, a lot of businesses look for candidates who will fit into their office culture.

Your personal interests can make you more attractive and memorable to a recruiter, and signal that you would be an ideal fit for the company.

Key Takeaway

There are not many correct resume formats to choose from. And not a single recommended official one. Choosing the best resume format for the job application is critical.

Picking a proper format of a resume really comes down to what you want to focus on: either your skills or your career progression.

Also, make sure that your resume format won’t make the recruiters think that you’re trying to hide something. Support your skills and achievements with valid evidence.

The best way to boost a classic resume format is to enhance each standard resume section and to place your most important achievements and skills on the top third of your resume.

Open with either a great resume summary or resume objective. Add your measurable achievements in the work experience section using the PAR (Problem Action Result) formula. Write a strong skills section and boast any certifications or awards you’ve received.

All check? Then you can make any traditional resume format work for you.

Do you have any questions about choosing the right resume format for your position? Is there anything else about formatting a resume that you’d like to know? Give us a shout in the comments and we’ll answer your questions!

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Author

Michael Tomaszewski

Michael is a writer and a resume expert at Zety. When he's not busy passing on career advice, he's probably somewhere out there swinging a tennis racket, reading Russian poetry, or enjoying his triple espresso.